The Lakers have narrowed down their exhaustive coaching search only to candidates who have previous head-coaching experience, according to a league source familiar with the situation.

Where that ends up remains to be seen. It is a “50-50 chance,” as one league source put it, that the Lakers will hire a coach before the NBA Draft on June 26. But it appears safe to rule out one prominent candidate to coach the Lakers: Derek Fisher.

Though he lacks any head-coaching experience, Fisher became an intriguing option because of his strong equity with the Lakers. That stemmed from five NBA championships, his close relationship with Kobe Bryant and becoming a locker room leader for most of his 18-year NBA career.

Former Lakers coach and New York Knicks president Phil Jackson also expressed interest in Fisher, an admission that sparked the NBA to fine him $25,000 for tampering. Team officials cannot publicly discuss any interest about an opposing team’s player under contract. Fisher’s contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder expires on June 30.

The Lakers currently do not have any interviews scheduled for next week, though that could change. They spent the past six weeks interviewing those with NBA head-coaching experience, including Mike Dunleavy, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis, Alvin Gentry and Lionel Hollins. Former Denver Nuggets coach George Karl also spoke informally with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak before the interviews started, though both parties feel lukewarm about a partnership.

The Lakers had considered hiring someone with less NBA experience, including college basketball coaches such as Kentucky’s John Calipari or UConn’s Kevin Ollie. The Lakers never reached out to any candidate, and both of them signed contract extensions with their respective programs. Ollie would have considered the job if the Lakers showed interest, though he preferred staying at his alma mater, according to a league source familiar with his thinking.

Before Quin Snyder became the Utah Jazz’s head coach on Friday, he was interested in the Lakers’ job after sparking a favorable impression with his preparation as a Lakers assistant under Mike Brown in the 2011-12 season. But Snyder was advised against the Lakers’ job if it became available because a potentially long rebuilding process could have added additional challenges in his first NBA head-coaching gig.

Ettore Messina served as a Lakers consultant in 2011-12 amid a successful head-coaching career overseas, most recently with CSKA Moscow. But the Lakers never reached out to Messina, who also lacks NBA head-coaching experience.

The Los Angeles Times first reported the development surrounding the Lakers’ stance on Fisher’s potential candidacy.

Mark Medina has been the Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Daily News since 2012. He also works as a Lakers insider for AM570 and is heard on national radio outlets, including The Dan Patrick Show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, The Chris Mannix Show, Fox Sports Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Yahoo! Sports Radio and SB Nation Radio. Medina also appears frequently on Spectrum SportsNet and NBC4's "Going Roggin."